THEO FITZGERALD – What started with the late great Shelley Garrett and the hit play “Beauty Shop” has transformed into my own production Mama’s Kitchen.
From Beauty Shop to Mama’s Kitchen!
What made you want to write a stage play?
I started out writing screenplays and sitcoms for spec but couldn’t sell anything. It’s the old Catch 22. No one want to take a chance on a new writer but if no one takes a chance how can you get a break? So I decided to adapt the things I wrote for the stage. It really made sense because I started out on the stage in the show Beauty Shop with the late Shelly Garrett which really set the tone for urban theatre.
You wrote the script for Mama’s Kitchen, you’re the director and the producer. You also designed some of the costumes! What don’t you do?
Not much! (Laughter) I come from a period when you really had to be committed and willing to do it all. In my early career I would act in multiple productions while rehearsing another. I did stand-up! I always wrote. I just had an interest in all of the creative elements that go into the business and performance so I never thought I was above something. Nothing was too small. I believe all of the experiences come together to create a better whole.
You mentioned Shelly Garrett. What was it like working with him?
He was a charismatic personality. He was a master at promotion and I believe that was his strength. He knew how to bring out the best in the individual and that is one of the things that I try to apply when working with others. Allow creative freedom, and encourage experimentation. That is where the magic happens. I can put words in the mouths of the character but the actor has to bring the character to life!
You have also had the pleasure of working with some of the great comedians of the past and present. Tell us a little about that.
I have had the pleasure of working with some wonderful people. La Wanda Page. I can’t sing her praises enough. She could make anything funny. She had great comedic timing. She started out as a shake dance, which is partial inspiration for Mama in Mama’s Kitchen. She was a great person. Her public personae was quite different from her private. She didn’t mince words. She was kind, warm, giving, and always encouraging to me and to others. She was a nice lady. I’ve worked with Martin Lawrence, Rudy Rae Moore, interestingly they are just about to release a story about his life. I’ve worked with Kym Whitley. All funny people. I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Julius Harris, a veteran actor, who was extremely encouraging. He shared with me his experiences working in Hollywood and I really enjoyed listening to his stories. I always related more to adults and older people, more so than my peers and that in many ways comes through in Mama’s Kitchen.
How so?
Mama’s Kitchen really comes out of the dispensing of wisdom and advice through the use of African American idioms and sayings that I would hear my grandmothers and aunts and uncles their friends discussing around the kitchen table or on the front porch. I didn’t understand most of it at the time but as I’ve matured I have been able to articulate, understand, and now pay homage to in my creative work.
For example?
Like, if you make a mistake and say, “I’m sorry.” They would say, “You ain’t as sorry as you gonna be.” Another one that has always stuck with me is, “You don’t miss your water ’til the well runs dry.” To me there are no truer words spoken.
Theo Fitzgerald WROTE A COMPANION PAMPHLET TO MAMA’S KITCHEN “YOUR RED WAGON!